Clever
by I-AM-SiriusLOCKED
Summary: "Barbara Gordon was vaguely aware that there was something... different about her." As Babs grows up, she watches her heroes fall and her city burn. So she decides to take it upon herself to help- she thinks they need her... But do they want her? There's only one way to find out... Batgirl.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: Batman created by Bob Kane, Batgirl by Bill Finger/ Sherldon Moldoff, TDK trilogy by Christopher Nolan. Also, quite a lot of my characterisation for Babs comes from Gail Simone, who wrote her as the Oracle for years, and more recently as Batgirl for the New 52. If you don't know what I'm on about, read them, they are amazing and what inspired me to do this fic.**

**A/N ever since I started reading comics, I always wanted Barbara to be in the Nolanverse. I mean, she's clever and sassy and I love her. So now... Ta-daaa! Please R&R**

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Barbara Gordon Jr, five and a half years old, was vaguely aware there was something… _different _about her. Her mother had told her she was a very special little girl, and Barbara had asked for a little more detail. She remembered how her mom's mouth had opened and closed- like a goldfish-, and then, how her dad, whom she loved more than anyone else in the entire world, had explained it to her:

"Babs, you've got an eidetic memory," he had said. "What it means is you can remember everything you see and hear, whereas most people can't."

"'Cos you're weird!" yelled her little brother Jimmy Jr, but her mom shushed him and her dad carried on talking.

"You're not weird. You are very, very clever, Babs, which is why you're in a class with eleven year olds and still outperforming them." Sergeant Gordon beamed with pride at her, his moustache curving.

_That must be it, then_, Barbara thought to herself, sitting in the cramped kitchen one evening a week or so later. She swung her legs to and fro, unable to touch the floor with her toes, and picked at her food absent-mindedly. But… she was still sure there was something else. It was like she was really, really hungry for something- but not food. She couldn't decide what it was. But it was the thing that made her fight harder than anyone else at her karate lessons, the thing that made her read books she could barely carry and learn how to hack computers (but only the simple ones- she wasn't _that _good yet)- the thing that kept her going.

"Barb, I'm just going to take this outside," said Daddy, holding up two binbags. Their tiny flat in downtown Gotham meant they had communal bins, something Mommy and Barbara refused to go near. Jimmy, however, liked them- he would catch cockroaches scuttling around their base and take them into his bedroom when Mommy and Daddy weren't looking. Barbara wasn't sure what he did with them in there, but he had to keep on getting new ones all the time and he never seemed to have more than one (in a jam jar stuffed down the back of his closet).

"Sure, honey," said Mommy, picking up Jimmy. "Bathtime for you, mister."

To the symphony of Jimmy screaming about his hatred of baths, Barbara climbed up onto the table and watched her dad lean over the balcony railing, just as he did every night. But, on this particular night, something made him freeze as he looked up.

A man swathed in black and darkness was perched on the stairs opposite him.

Barbara gasped, and kneeled up on the table to get a better look at him. The man was wearing a sort of helmet with two pointed earlike things coming off the side, which left only his mouth and chin uncovered so he could talk. The rest of his body was covered in heavy looking black Kevlar (Barbara knew it was Kevlar because she recognised it from the GCP database, which she checked regularly) and he had a bat symbol emblazoned across his chest. A black cape fluttered around him in the night breeze, making him look like a ghost.

Silently, Barbara slid off the table, opened the back door and stepped out onto the balcony, not taking her eyes off the man (but then, was he a man? He seemed so much more than that).

"You're the Batman, aren't you?" she asked, curling her fingers around the bars of the rails and smiling wonderingly at him. "The one Daddy is meant to be catching?"

"Go back inside- no, wait, how do you know that?" asked Daddy, brows furrowed.

"I read your newspapers and your text messages," she said quickly, before returning her attention back to the Batman. She couldn't be sure, but Barbara thought she saw him smile slightly when she said that.

"Are you gonna go an' beat up all the bad guys? Maroni's men? And I knew that from your emails," she added quickly, for Daddy's benefit. Honestly, he needed to set better passwords than just Barbara's name and birthday with all the spaces taken out.

"That depends," said the Batman, talking in a very low, raspy voice. He was definitely smiling now, but then his face- what little she could see of it- straightened, and he looked up at Daddy. "If I can get the right information."

Barbara opened her mouth to ask another question, but her dad put her hand on her back and guided her gently towards the door.

"Back inside now, Babs," he said gently, "and don't tell your mother you came out here." Barbara nodded, and walked back into the kitchen. As the door closed behind her, she heard Batman's comment, and her father's reply.

"Smart kid."

"… I know."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Writing Barbara is ridiculously fun. Please review!**

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Barbara sat on the lounge's battered carpet, chewing the end of her pencil. The trigonometry homework was boring, and when they were boring they got hard and her brain wandered off to other things. Beside her, Jimmy Jr was staring at the TV screen with his mouth slightly open.

It was nearly ten at night; Barbara and Jimmy were never normally up this later, but Mommy was worried. Barbara guessed it was because of what was going on in the Narrows- before they'd put a VCR of cartoons on she'd caught a snatch of the Gotham City News, and from what she'd gathered from that (Mommy had said she wasn't allowed on the computer, so reading Daddy's emails wasn't an option) someone had released gas that made people see scary stuff and were trying to take over Gotham. Oh, and Bruce Wayne had chucked everybody out of his manor and burnt it down, which she thought was a bit odd. She was just getting tangled up in her own thoughts when the phone rang. Mommy snatched it up quickly.

"Jim? Oh, thank God… Shi-sugar… Are you sure? I don't think- fine. Babs, your daddy wants to talk to you," she called.

Barbara took the phone off her, and dragged it into her bedroom slamming the door shut and trapping the cable. Her dad wouldn't be calling her at this time unless it was something important…

"What's going on in the Narrows, Daddy? Has Batman got there yet?"

"Yes," answered the detective- she could hear muffled screams, and a growling sound like an engine, only much lower. "Listen, I need to borrow your brain. I'm two streets to the left of the North bridge out of the Narrows, and I need to drive to wear the elevated train tracks hit Wayne tower. Oh, and the streets need to be at least nine feet wide."

In her mind, the everyday stuff- Mom, Jimmy, food, trigonometry- disappeared, and was replaced by a birds-eye view map of Gotham. In her minds' eye, she zoomed into where her Dad was and raced along the imagined streets, flying faster than any car, and arriving at Wayne Tower in the blink of an eye.

"Next left, Dad, an' then bear right until you hit the bridge. And say hi to Batman for me, won't you?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N CrunchbiteNuva, I want to send you flowers. Your review was lovely. Also, going to apologise now for any past or future typos. I was rereading the chapters yesterday and... AARGH. Anyway. Have another chapter, please review!**

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Babs sat on her dad's desk in the MCU (Mommy was with Jimmy at the doctor's clinic; he'd eaten a pen), swinging her legs and absorbing her surroundings. It was a set of small, dark, cramped offices with about a dozen cops hurrying around cluttered desks, looking harassed… She loved it.

Her dad was sat on a chair next to her, running a hand through his light brown (but getting grey) hair as he read a report about the robbery at a big Gotham bank. This was major enough as it was, but the main guy- and the only one of the gang left alive at the end of it- was dressed as a clown, with his mouth carved into a fearsome smile and his face painted to accentuate his scars.

It was the Joker.

Gordon looked up from his desk out of the window, and swore. Out of it, onto the foggy night sky, a circle of light was shining, with the hazy silhouette of a bat set against it.

"Detective Ramirez, can you keep an eye on Barbara for me? I have to… I have to go out for a minute."

"Sure," said an olive-skinned woman, not looking away from her computer screen. Once her dad had left, Barbara waited for a couple of minutes, and then scampered up the stairs on all fours to the roof of the GPD.

Silently, she pushed open the door and slipped out into the night, unnoticed. Her dad was there, arguing with a blonde man Babs recognised as the new District Attorney, Harvey Dent. The Batman stood watching them both, face impassive.

"Don't try to hide the fact that clearly Maroni's got people in your office, Dent!" snapped Gordon. They argued more, and then some more after that, until Barbara felt it was time for her to make a contribution.

"Hell, he really is a prat, isn't he?" she said brightly to her dad. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the corner of the Batman's mouth twitch upwards, and glowed with pride.

"Barbara!" said her dad sharply. "What are you doing up her?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I got bored," she told him, "hey, Batman. You caught the Joker yet?"

"And you know about that… How, exactly?" Dent asked her, coldly. Barbara really, _really _didn't like him.

"He drove through a wall directly in front of my school bus," she replied crossing her arms. "I'd be kinda hard put _not _to notice that. Anyway, it's been all over the news."

Dent opened his mouth to argue, but Gordon gave him a sharp, warning look, and the DA stayed silent. Quickly, he picked Barbara up and carried her back into the building. She waved sadly at Batman as the door closed, and she could have sworn he winked back.

"Barbara, you shouldn't have followed me," her father said sternly, his cornflower-blue eyes (that were the exact same colour as hers) holding her gaze steadily.

"Sorry, Daddy," she murmured, hanging her head. Gordon's face softened.

"It's fine. Just stay where you are and I'll pick you up when I'm done out there, okay?" he kissed her on the forehead and walked back outside, leaving a somewhat dejected six-year-old behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Firstly thanks for the reviews from DonJuan'73, BeautifulAngel & DestinyOrton. You have no idea how nice it was to read them, and they are great motivation to keep on writing. Thank you!**

**So this is the next chapter... it's short and the next one's going to be even shorter, I'm afraid. I will also be away from technology (how will I cope?!) for the next week or so, so it may be a while before the next chapter is updated. But for the meantime... please R&R!**

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It was dark- no; stray rays of light punctuated the walls and ceiling. Babs could feel the warmth of Jimmy pressed against her side, and she shone her torch out of the tiny gap in the cloth that served as an entrance, to check for invaders. The hot, stuffy air of the makeshift tent made it hard to breathe…

"I reckon this is the best den yet, Babs," whispered Jimmy.

"Yeah, we should use the broom handle as a support next time, too. It works really well." There was a ring at the door, and Babs stuck her head out of the flap and watched her mom walk through the kitchen to open it. Ramirez was at the door. Babs couldn't hear what the detective said, but whatever it was…

"Oh, God, no," sobbed Mommy.

Without thinking, Barbara ran through the flat and to the door, stopping just behind Mom.

"No, Babs, go back inside, go play with your brother, go on," she said, tears pouring down her face, but Barbara did not leave. She looked up at the outdoor staircase, and saw the Batman perched there, cloak rippling around him like waves of shadows. Very slowly, he bowed his head to her.

_Dad_.

Without thinking, Babs ran into her bedroom, slammed the door shut and curled up against it, wrapping her arms around her knees, trying to stop them shaking. It didn't work, and some small part of her brain that was still working saw that she was making sounds like a wounded animal, with short shallow breaths. The crying didn't start straight away- but when it did, it was massive, gut-wrenching sobs that shook her whole body. She wanted Daddy, she needed him, to make the pain and the hurt go away…

The sun rose, but she barely noticed it. Neither her mom nor Jimmy came into her room. A few hours after light had started to punctuate the curtains, she crawled into bed, wrapping the duvet around herself like it would somehow protect her. Eventually, she fell asleep, and dreamt of darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N VERY short chapter. But sweet, and leading on to some bigger stuff.**

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Barbara stirred in her sleep- she could sense someone standing in front of her. Very gently, a hand swept stray hair off of her face, and she opened her eyes blearily. Her body, still numb from tiredness and pain, was too fatigued to move, but she managed to whisper something to the figure in front of her.

"Did Batman save you Daddy?" she asked.

"Actually," replied Lieutenant Gordon, smiling, "this time, I saved him." Her dad's phone bleeped, and he pulled it out of his pocket and frowned.

"I would get that if I were you," murmured Barbara, "might be important."

"No, I'll stay here-"

"Daddy, it's fine. You're back, we're safe. Nothing will happen to us now." Sluggishly, Barbara climbed out of bed and gave her dad the biggest hug she could manage.

"We'll be okay."

She had no idea how wrong she was.


	6. IMPORTANT

**A/N so my internet service provider has had an "order from the courts" to block due to copyright infringement. WELL, IT'S FANFICTION, DUDES. It's not currently blocked when I use "www." at the beginning of the web address at the moment, but if they do block it via that address as well there obviously won't be any uploading for a while. I'm posting this onto both my fics so if there is a long unexplained absence, you know why.**

**(Oh, and as you can probably imagine, I was very angry.)**


	7. Chapter 6- Part 1

**A/N Okay, so the part of the film wherein Dent kidnaps Gordon's family, leading up to the end of TDK, I had originally intended to be all one chapter. But I haven't properly updated for a while, and I still need to watch the film so I can rewrite Babs into the scene as accurately as possibly. So this will have to do for now- if I get round to it, I might merge the two into one chapter. Anyway... please R&R!**

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"Hey, Babs, did'ya hear about Harvey Dent? Burnt half his face off, 'cording to the news. Do you think when he drinks half of it just drips back out again?"

"Don't be horrible, Jimmy," Barbara told her brother. She was only half-listening to him, the rest of her brain reading _David Copperfield_. "And anyway, if he didn't want his drink to fall out he could just lean his head to one side." She demonstrated, pulling a grotesque face as she angled her head. Jimmy giggled.

"Uhh, kids," said Mom shakily, walking into the living room and grabbing her bag, "we gotta go. Now."

"I thought the cop car wasn't coming for a while yet?" asked Barbara, confused.

"Plan's changed, honey," her mom told her. "Quickly, now."

They hurried out of the flat and down the rattling metal staircase, to where a sleek, expensive car was waiting for them. The windows were tinted, so Babs couldn't see who was driving. They all piled into the back of the car, with Mom in the middle and her arms wrapped around her two children.

No that she was inside, Barbara tried to get a better look at their chauffeur. The front of the car was in almost pitch darkness, but she could see some stiff blonde hair falling over a shadowed face that she remembered easier than most people. Well, half a face.

"Mr Dent?" Babs asked, timidly. "Where are you taking us?" The car swerved into a back alley, and the DA turned around in his seat to look at them/

Barbara recoiled. The left side of his face was devoid of skin, with muscle, tissue and bone exposed. His eye bulged insanely, and the mouth was open in a half snarl. The other side of the face had its eye narrowed at them.

"Call your husband, Mrs Gordon," Dent growled. Crying, Mom dialled the Lieutenants number.

"Jim, he's got the kids!"

Barbara could sense the panic coming from the other end of the line. Dent snatched away the phone.

"Where my family died."

She guessed that was where they were headed- 250 52nd St., according to the police file. For the first, but not the last, time in her life, Barbara was scared.


	8. Chapter 6- Part 2

**A/N YES! I'VE FINALLY FINISHED THIS GODDAMN SCENE! It's all very serious. I hope you don't think I've ruined what is one of the most beautiful pieces of film. Anyway, after this, it's character development time! A big chunk of 8 years, un-movied, which is gonna be so much fun to write. Also, sorry for the delay. And I'll also be uploading much less regularly, as it's back to school. Anyway... et voila! Please R&R!**

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The skeletal remains of the building were blackened with ash, and rubble created an uneven carpet. The warmth of Mom's body on one side of me was a stark contrast to the icy pole that we were tied to. Babs had her eyes closed, so she wouldn't have to look at Dent, but opened them when she heard footsteps.

Dad ran up the steps, yelling her name- or was it Mom who he was calling to? He spotted his family, and instinctively ran towards them, not noticing Dent behind him until he clubbed him round the back of the head with the butt of his gun. Dad collapse to the floor, and Barbara winced, squeezing her eyes tight shut again. She tried to block out the noise, pretend it wasn't happening, and an old lullaby drifted through her consciousness…

_Ring-o-ring-o roses, a pocket full of posies,_

_Atishoo! Atishoo! We all fall down…_

The small part of Barbara's brain that never panicked wondered why a song about the plague came to her at the moment, but the rest of her latched onto the tune, singing it over and over.

"No. Just the one you love the most." Barbara's eyes snapped open instinctively as Dent walked to them. He crouched, and pressed the barrel of his gun to Mom's forehead.

"Your wife?"

"Harvey… D-don't hurt my family," muttered Gordon, still on the floor with his hand outstretched.

"Hmm… Or maybe your precious little daughter, who's too clever for her own good?"

"GET THAT GUN AWAY FROM HER!"

"It seems we have a winner." Mom cried out as Dent dragged Barbara out of her bindings and held her close to his body, gun pointed at her temple. There was a movement in the shadows, and the Batman stepped forward.

"You don't want to hurt the girl, Harvey," he growled, "this is between the three of us."

Barbara shut her eyes again.

_Ring-o-ring-o roses, a pocket full of posies…_

There was the snap of a gunshot, and Barbara opened her eyes to see Batman buckle over in pain.

"No!" she yelled out, despite herself.

"Talk to the person you love the most, Gordon," Dent snapped. "Tell them it's gonna be okay. Lie."

"Barbara… It, it's gonna be okay." Gordon whispered. He was crying.

Dent reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver coin, blackened on one side. Barbara's heart raced, and for a moment, everything slowed.

_Unnoticed by all but her, Batman was readying to charge. This was the moment, the time when Dent was at his weakest, and she had to do something._

The coin flipped into the air, and Babs drove her elbow back into Dent's groin. He buckled over, distracted, and Batman barrelled into them, flying over the exposed edge of the building and into nothingness.

_We all fall down…_

The weightlessness sensation came to an abrupt halt as Barbara's arm felt like it was being yanked out of its socket. The Batman had one hand gripping onto a plank of wood, and the other was wrapped around Babs' forearm. With visible effort, he heaved her back onto the platform.

Barbara collapsed into her dad's arms, shaking slightly, determined not to look round and see Dent's inevitably broken body. Then, she saw her Mom's terrified face, streaked with mascara, and ran over to see if she was all right.

As she reached her, there was a snapping sound, and Dad swore. Barbara tried to turn, and run back, but Mom was hugging her too tightly for her to do anything. She caught Jimmy's eye. He looked pale, his eyes were red, but he nodded at her.

"Mom, let her go," he muttered, tugging at her sleeve.

"But-"

"Mommy, please, I wanna see what's happened!"

The woman's hold weakened, and Barbara broke free and ran to the stairs. Gordon was already down there, talking to Batman, who was lying still on the floor.

"Dad!" She cried out. "Dad, is he OK?" No response, but the vigilante stirred. He stood up, looking Gordon squarely in the eye. They were talking, but Babs couldn't hear what they were saying- she wasn't sure that she wanted to. Batman glanced up at her, and she stared him down. The caped Crusader turned back to Gordon, still talking, and very gently knelt down and turned Dent's face so only the clear side was visible. Babs watched their faces; Dad was getting gradually more angry; Batman, resigned.

Then, all at once, he took off, becoming nothing but a rippling shape in the shadows. "Batman?" She yelled, running down the steps, "Batman!" she stopeed beside her father, who was watching him go.

"Why's he running, Dad?"

"Because we have to chase him." Babs hear the yell of police officers, the barking of dogs.

"He didn't do anything wrong."

"Because he's the hero Gotham deserves… But not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he's not a… Hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight."

Barbara cracked a grin at her dad. "Good luck to the guys hunting him, then."


	9. Chapter 7

**A/N There really is nothing to say except I hope you enjoy this.**

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_Two Months Later_

A few suitcases were heaped unevenly by the doorway, one of which had been packed and unpacked so many times in the last few days it looked decidedly haggard. That was not the only abnormality in the apartment, thought.

"Mom, y'see this handcuffs?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Y'see how they're keeping me locked to the radiator?"

"Yes."

"Y'know how I have hidden the key?"

"_What?_"

"Well, that means I'M NOT FRICKING LEAVING THIS FLAT!"

"Babs, don't swear," Commissioner Gordon told her wearily.

"I didn't. Daddy, I'm not moving to Cleveland without you. Hell, I wouldn't move there anyway. But it's not fair; none of this was your fault."

"Barbara," snapped Mom impatiently, one hand holding tightly onto her son as if she thought he would leave her as well, "we're moving for our own safety, it-"

"Then why isn't Dad going with you? Because you blame him, you said you _can't trust him_, which ISN'T FAIR!" Her voice rose to a scream.

"Babs," said Dad softly, crouching down so he was on eye level with her, "it's for the best. Mom and I have talked about this-"

"No, Mom talked _to_ you about this, and you agreed because you love her too much. Me an' Jimmy have talked about this. If one of us stays with each parent, we can make sure neither of you do anything stupid." She rested her forehead against Gordon's. "I'm not leaving you, Daddy. Never will."

"Mom, Babs is right," said Jimmy, turning to face her. "We're not leaving either of you on your own. It's better for her to stay here, she's got that go-to-big-school-faster thing –"

"Accelerated learning programme-"

"Yeah, that- and I think Cleveland's pretty cool." Babs knew he was lying. They'd googled it last month, when they had first heard their parents arguing, and it looked dull as ditchwater.

"Well?" said Barbara Senior, rounding on her husband. "What have you got to say about this?"

"… The kids have got a point, Barb. And I don't know where that key is."

"Fine. Jimmy, c'mon, we're going. Say goodbye to your Daddy and sister."

The boy ran to hug his father, then walked slowly over to Babs.

"Look after him, sis," he murmured, wrapping his arms around her.

"Same goes for you too, little bro. Email me when you get there." Barbara felt an uncomfortable lump rise from her chest up to her throat, and tried in vain to swallow it down."

"Bye, Mom."

"Bye, Babs." There was no hugging, there. Babs doubted she would ever be forgiven by her namesake for this.

Oh, well.

The remaining Gordons watched the other half of their family lug two-thirds of the suitcases (Barbara declined her husband's help) down the stairs and into the taxi below. As soon as she heard it drive off, Barbara pulled a small silver key out of her sock, unlocked herself, ran straight over to her dad and gave him the biggest hug she could manage.

Thank you, Barbara," he murmured in her ear as he picked her up. She let the tears fall onto his shoulder.


	10. Chapter 8

**A/N HEY DUDES. The next load of chapters are probably going to be quite fluffy, but I'll try and keep it relevant to the plot line as well. And try and get a bit of action in later. Thank you for all your lovely reviews, keep them coming!**

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While Dad was cooking dinner that evening, Barbara went into her room.

It was not an ordinary room for a nearly eight year old girl. Well, it had teddy bears, and a small amount of pink, but it also had newspaper cuttings featuring her dad pinned to the wall, and books on philosophy and books by classical authors and books about books. It was also very messy.

With some effort, Barbara lifted the mattress from her bed, and pulled out a board, with a few pictures stuck to it and her scribbled annotations. In the centre was the big question.

_WHO IS BATMAN?_

She had to find him. Because… There was no other way to tell him what he had done for her, for Dad. She owed him, and most of all, her burning curiosity meant this big secret was like an itch that wouldn't go away. And then… the new Dent Act might have gotten rid of "organised" crime, but there were still murders, still theft, still kidnap and rape… Someone had to do something about that. And if Batman wasn't going to continue, she sure as hell was going to find out how he had done it.

It would take time, of course. And training. And more money than she had- or Dad, for that matter, considering he was paying for her tuition, and Mom and Jimmy's welfare. But she had to do it.

Barbara had always wanted to be a policeman, like her dad, but was told to aim higher. Well, now she was.

_Batgirl._


	11. Chapter 9

**A/N I'm just going to try and increase Babs' sass levels as she gets older. Enjoy!**

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"Daddy?" Barbara asked, walking up to her father and wrapping her arms around him.

"What do you want?"

Babs frowned. "How did you know I wanted something?"

"I've been your father for eight years now, Babs, I can tell."

"Oh. Well, can I learn parkour?"

"What?"

Barbara rolled her eyes, and dragged Dad over to the computer. "Look. It's really cool." _And good for when you're running across rooftops, chasing the bad guys_, she thought to herself.

"Well, you'll have to drop something, so we can afford it."

"Ballet," replied Barbara quickly, "I don't mind, I only did it 'cos Mom made me" there was an awkward silence. This was the first time Babs' mother had been mentioned since she left, and she knew Dad was still upset about it.

"Fine, I'll check it out next week. But I do have work as well, you know."

"Yeah, but that's probably really boring now."

"Why?" they both sat down on the lounge sofa, Babs curled up into Gordon's side.

"Because there's no more mob, just the occasional loner psychopath."

Gordon chuckled. "I do occasionally wonder how you know so much."

"I read."

"Really? I hadn't noticed. Anyway, Babs, it's not all about it being fun, it's about protecting Gotham."

"Yeah, I know." _A lot more than you realise. _"But you know I'm right."

Dad sighed. "You always are, baby."


	12. Chapter 10

**A/N quite a big chapter, for this fanfic. Please review!**

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Parkour was easier than she thought it'd be; it turned out ballet was a pretty useful skill to have when climbing, running and jumping over things other people would walk around, and Barbara excelled, just like she did in everything else. After two years, the ten year old girl was now able to climb the outside of a building without difficulty, something her teachers were amazed by.

"I just don't find things hard, I guess," she told her karate sensei ( man twice her size), after successfully disarming him and almost breaking his arm.

It was after that lesson, sitting on the front steps of the hired-out gym, letting her copper hair fall in rain soaked clumps down her face as she waited for Dad, that she first saw the chalk mark across the street.

It was tiny, unnoticeable really. Unless you had eidetic memory, that is. Babs crossed the empty street to the lamppost with the chalked symbol on it, of a bat with its wings in flight. It couldn't mean anything else, not in this city.

"Hey!"

Barbara turned around sharply, reacting to the new voice. It had come from a guy in his early twenties, with short, dark hair and a mistrusting face. Underneath his jacket, she caught a glimpse of a rookie policeman's uniform.

"You drew this, right?" She asked him.

"How the hell do you know that?"

"There's chalk marks on the inside of you thumb. What do you know about the Batman?"

"I can't expect a kid like you to understand." The rookie turned away, started to walk back down the alley.

"Well, I understand loadsa other things. Like, trigonometry. And why the Batman took the blame for the murder of Harvey Dent, and all those people he killed. You wanna know why? 'Cos I was there when he died. And I'm clever."

The man paused, and then turned, his face hidden in shadow. He looked older. "You're the Commissioner's daughter."

"I am that."

"It's not safe for you out here, on your own."

"I can take care of myself, and anyway, Daddy'll be here in a minute." As she said it, her phone rang. She pulled it out and answered it, already knowing who it would be.

"Hey, Dad. You're working late again, huh?"

"I'm sorry, Babs," came the tired reply from the other end of the line. The MCU had just finished being rebuilt after the Joker had blown it up, nearly three years ago now, and transferring all the equipment and files back into the building was causing extra stress from the Gotham police, who had better things to be dealing with. "Officer Blake should be outside now, he's going to bring you round to the MCU until I can get home."

"Rookie guy, tall, brown hair?"

"Yeah. See you later, Babs."

"Bye." The line went dead, and Barbara looked up at Blake. "You're giving me a lift, and you're telling me why you still believe in the Batman, officer."

She climbed into the shotgun seat of the police car, waiting for Blake to talk.

"It never made sense, the story of that night," muttered Blake, pulling out onto the road. "I mean… the Batman saved so many lives, and then he just… went on a rampage? And he shot people. The Batman never carried a gun."

Babs smiled to herself. "I could tell you what really happened, officer Blake," she replied, with her head resting against the window. "But not yet. I still don't trust you."

"How can we change that then, little girl?"

"Stop calling me little girl, for a start." He laughed. "Most people I like call me Babs. But… I'm gonna research you. A person's background has a big effect on their personality, y'know."

"And you really expect to find out anything about me?"

"Well, I've already figured out who the Batman is." That was a lie. But she was nearly there.

The car swerved as Blake spun round to look at her. "What the-?!"

"All in good time, officer. But trust me, you'll be the first to know."


	13. Chapter 11

**A/N GUYSGUYSGUYSGUYSGUYS DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THEY'RE MAKING A TV SHOW LIKE AGENTS OF SHIELD BUT FOR THE SEVEN YEARS OF GOTHAM BEFORE BATMAN AND ITS STARRING GORDON AND Askdsdhjksdfdjkla I'M SO EXCITED**

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"Good afternoon, Daddy." Barbara said brightly, not looking away from the television screen as her dad sloped into the lunge, hair messed up and glasses off.

"Huh?"

"You had a day off today, and I figured I'd let you sleep, considering you didn't get home 'til, like, one in the morning or something."

"Thanks, baby. What time is it now?"

"Three in the afternoon. I left you some of the pancakes I had for breakfast, if you wanna stick them in the microwave. Can you microwave pancakes?"

"Babs, this day off was meant to be for us to go and see Mom and Jimmy." Dad sighed, wandering into the kitchen.

"I called to say we couldn't make it, 'cos you were working overtime. Jimmy knows the real reason, I skyped him half an hour ago."

"Oh, okay, then." Gordon seemed too tired to pursue the matter further. The lack of work in MCU since the Dent Act had cleared organised crime was more than made up for by the amount of paperwork he had as Police Commissioner. "This kitchen's a mess."

"I cook, you clean," Babs yelled. "Oh, and according to my teachers, I should be able to get into uni at sixteen."

Dad stuck his head around the doorway. "Babs, that's great!"

"Yeah, as long as we can find the money."

"Let me worry about that. Do your homework, or whatever it is geniuses do." Barbara laughed, but she wished she hadn't told her father about the possibility of getting into Gotham university early. He was giving Mom and Jimmy well over half of what he earned, and Barbara's karate and parkour lessons were a drain, too, but Dad wouldn't let her quit them so they would have more money. She hated seeing her dad struggle to make ends meet.

"I've done all my homework."

"I know when you're lying, Babs."

"UGH. Fine. I'll go do it now." Barbara sloped off to her bedroom, but instead of reaching into her schoolbag, she opened her laptop and unlocked it (she'd designed the software herself; the FBI wouldn't be able to get into it),and opened the file marked "bat". The screen flashed black for an instant, then reopened to show lines of text and binary whizzing past. Fingers flying across the keys, Babs opened up the list of "possibles" and started cross-referencing their face and body structure with access to advanced weaponry and equipment. It was taking her forever, but she was determined to find him.


	14. Chapter 12

**A/N I haven't actually read this through at all so there will probably be many typos (or more than usual). OOH, and if you like Doctor Who/ Sherlock I've just written a Wholock oneshot about Sherlock's skull, so feel free to check it out. In ze meantime, please enjoy and review!**

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"DADDYYYYY?!"

"BABS?!"

"Police guy's at the door for you, daddy." Barbara quickly kissed her dad on the cheek as she walked past him in the hallway and into the kitchen, as the Commissioner went to go and talk to the uniformed cop. As Babs got ice cream out the freezer, she listened to the conversation through the wall.

"Sir, final report on the Jefferson murder, they want you to read it through."

_Murder? _Babs, thought, as she dug through one of the drawers to get a spoon (nothing in their flat was organised anymore). _Just one murder is enough to warrant the Commissioner and head of MCU to check the report? Hell. I miss pre-Dent Act._

"Can't it wait until tomorrow, officer?"

"Sorry, sir. Bit of a violent one, y'know? They want your opinion, to see if you think they've got the right guy."

_Hmm. Slightly more interesting._

Gordon sighed. "Barbara, will you be alright on your own here for a bit?"

"Yeah, I'm thirteen, of course I will be. But can't I come anyway?" She poked her head out of the kitchen door. "I can carry on alphabetizing your records."

"I'm sure I can keep an eye on her, sir," said the officer, smiling slightly. Babs noticed it was John Blake, the chalk-bat guy.

"_Please_, Dad."

"Fine."

"Okay, cool. But I'm taking this ice-cream with me."

Babs sat amongst neat piles of files stacked as high as her head, in the warm and shadowy basement of the MCU. She had four papercuts on her left hand, and her eyes were strained in the semi-light, but her mind was occupied, and she was happy.

"Bruce Wayne," she murmured, picking up a folder. Billionaire playboy. Vapid, different relationship each week. The girls at her schools giggled and laughed and batted their eyelashes when his name was mentioned, but Babs didn't care much for him. He cared way too little about the city he was supposedly prince of.

She flipped the file open, and saw one small entry for being drunk and disorderly (bail paid immediately by A.J Pennyweather, never charged), when her eyes were drawn to the picture. Dark hair brushed carelessly back from the proud face, her eyes, after months (if not years) of studying photographs of "possibles" strayed automatically to his eyes and chin, the only part of his face that would be visible under a cowl.

With a gasp, her mind dragged her back to that night, six years ago, when the Batman had last looked her in the eyes. The same eyes- same hue of iris, same slight patterning of veins (the photograph was high-res and Babs' eidetic memory immaculate). The pointed chin, jutted forward slightly. His access to top-end prototypes and technology nobody else could access. A man whose parents had been killed by the mob, went missing for twelve years, and upon his return were the first activities of the caped crusader. Everything clicked into place, as the jigsaw started to take shape; she couldn't believe she hadn't realised this before.

The Prince of Gotham was its Dark Knight.


End file.
